The Phillies have acquired right-hander Erich Uelmen from the Cubs in exchange for cash and opened a spot on the roster by designating fellow right-hander Vinny Nittoli for assignment, per a team announcement. Uelmen was designated for assignment by the Cubs when they finalized their deal to re-sign southpaw Drew Smyly.
Uelmen, 26, made his big league debut with the Cubs in 2022, pitching to a 4.67 ERA with a 17.2% strikeout rate against a 9.8% walk rate in 27 innings. He averaged 93.8 mph on his heater, generally kept the ball in the yard (1.00 HR/9) and posted an above-average 47.6% ground-ball rate in that time.
That marked the continuation of a solid showing in Triple-A, where Uelmen tossed 42 innings with a 2.79 ERA and a huge 55.3% ground-ball rate. He also fanned 29.1% of his opponents in Triple-A, but Uelmen’s 12.8% walk rate clearly left plenty to be desired. He has a full slate of three minor league option years remaining, and he was dominant against fellow right-handers in 2022, limiting them to a .206/.282/.326 output.
Lefties had more success at .234/.390/.318, but if he can rein in his command, Uelmen could be a serviceable option against hitters from both sides of the plate. That’s easier said than done, of course, and Uelmen has walked 11.2% of the batters he’s faced in Double-A, Triple-A and the Majors combined.
Nittoli, 32, reached the Majors for the first time in 2021 when he tossed one inning for the Mariners. It was a tiny sample but a notable one for the former 25th-round pick, as it capped off an eight-year grind to the big league level. He split the 2022 season between the Yankees, Blue Jays and Phillies organizations, with Toronto flipping him to Philadelphia in an August swap. The Phils selected Nittoli to the Majors when rosters expanded on Sept. 1 and got a pair of scoreless innings out of him during his brief time with the big league squad.
Nittoli posted a 3.81 ERA in 52 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for the Yankees, Jays and Phillies in 2022, whiffing 30.8% of his opponents against a tidy 6.7% walk rate. He still has a minor league option year remaining, and the Phillies will now have a week to trade him or place him on outright waivers.
The national league champs Phillies…get it right
Not a bad flier for the Phillies. I’m not saying he is anything special, but he was the Iowa Cubs closer for a little bit before getting called up by the Cubs last season. He could be a nice bullpen piece.
The king of Willis Garner Taylor Stadium.
I was surprised the cubs dfa Uleman. I seemed like there was some lower hanging fruit.
More than anything, this shows where the minor league system of the Cubs is headed. Particularly the pitching end of things. There are multiple options the Cubs now have to potentially fill spots in the bullpen as well as the starting rotation.
I expect them to do nice things with their excess numbers of arms – especially using them to fill positions of need.
But they had to designate the immortal Vinny Nittoli to clear room for him…how will we survive?
but what will the Dodgers do with Bauer this week?
DFA then trade within the window before release.
@Clip, if they DFA and trade him, then the acquiring team will owe him his full salary. They either keep him or straight cut him. My guess is they’re trying to assess fallout with teammates, fans and media if they keep him. The first, his teammates, are the most key. I’m still expecting them to cut him, yet they could use a starter, so they’re probably torn!
Yeah, perhaps they do just cut him. I’m assuming they work out some salary relief-type deal where they pay 60/40 with another team or something…. Maybe they just straight trade him and don’t DFA at all then? I don’t know, man.
I believe he will be pitching somewhere though.
Release him and let him pitch in the Mexican Beer League!
Fallout over him being blackballed by mlb? Doubt that weighs at all on decision they make. Dodgers aren’t going cave to fairytale narratives as easy as most teams. He stays bc him coming back is greatest acquisition team makes this offseason.
I heard they’re gonna fire him as soon as the suspension is over. Which is the right thing to do.
Yeah, there were several articles that reported they Intend to release or trade him because of both the PR problem and clubhouse division. Apparently there are several players very vocal (internally) about not wanting to play with him.
I believe it is not worth the negative press and stigma for the $22MM or whatever to have him return to LAD. They’re a $500B franchise, I believe he will never throw another pitch as a Dodger.
If a good team picks him up, and he’s pitching in the playoffs in games of real consequence, it will be quite a PR problem for the league too
@Brew88 Mets are going full-on Evil Empire. It would be fitting if they pick up Bauer as well.
Ha! I can see that! Their # 5 SP
Bauer is the only player that actually asked for more discipline at his own disciplinary hearing…
…he was very disappointed that he was only fined and suspended.
Is this another Bellatti, Alvarado, Nelson, or Coonrod? DD has seemed to have good luck trading for arms and finding a little something extra. Those guys are not elite level, but margin guys that took our bullpen from historically bad to a strength in the playoffs.
Good pickup for PHI
I guess that that didn’t make Vinny an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Numbers in the minors are good except for the walk rate. He could become a useful low leverage arm outta the pen for Philly.
I’m kinda surprised too. Uelman looked like a decent young arm and only 26 yrs old, but as another commenter said, this is an example of how far the Cubs pitching development has come. 2-3 years ago there’s no way Cubs let him go. But now they have much better options in the minors ready to go.
It’s gonna be funny the first time Uelman faces the cubs, whether it’s with a spot start or a relief appearance. He’s gonna have an immaculate inning.
I do hope he does well but I don’t think he’ll male the Phillies out of ST.
Find yourself someone who loves you like DD loves filling the backend of his roster with horrible AAAA RP.
You do this 200 times, you end up hitting on 1 solid bullpen piece.
Still, the ones they pick up confuse me. The team did a lot better last offseason with MiLB deal guys. Bellatti was one, but you have guys like Duron, Rossman, and Cyr who all saw time last year. Cyr was great after he went to Oakland (gave up on him too soon), and Duron I think should have been a keeper too. Problem is, as the Morales DFA shows, it’s a risky game when the guy is on the 40.
They confuse you? It’s not hard they are trying to hit on a cheap arm or 2. We do it every year lol
He is actually doing OK thus far with these low-key additions. Bellatti was good, Alvarado was developed nicely (I never thought that they could transform him from purely wild to wildly effective – he was more of an upside play)…Coonrod is OK when healthy. Nelson held his own at times.
It is really hard for us to evaluate these bottom of the 40 man moves as they happen unless we are actively scouting, which we are not. So usually when we kvetch and moan about them it is simply to hear ourselves make proclamations.
When someone has a track record for player development such as DD, I lean towards trusting that he has a better chance of success than most…with the understanding that everyone should have that most of those peripheral moves have little to no impact at the major league level anyway.
Nows the time of year to pick up funny names to see if they’ll get past Mo. Next up, Haywood Jablome and Seymour Butz
Too bad. It seems like a guy named Vinny Nittoli should play for the Phillies.